Medical, physiological or operational data obtained by a cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator is sometimes transmitted to a central service center for the data to be analyzed, and made available to an attending physician via an appropriate user interface.
Some functions of such implants are controlled by software or firmware and are therefore programmable. The implants therefore have a programmable controller for controlling these functions.
It often happens that after initial programming—which may occur shortly before, during or after implantation of the implant—additional programming or reprogramming is useful to better adjust the implant to possible changes in the health of a patient occurring in the meantime, or to otherwise improve the performance of the implant. Such programming or reprogramming often occurs by the physician's establishment of a short-range wireless data link to a particular implant with the help of a programming device, with the physician thereafter programming the implant in the presence of the patient.
However, programming or reprogramming of an implant may instead be done from a remote location, e.g., via the central service center. To this end, a data link may be established between the service center and a intermediate patient device. The intermediate patient device is usually in the vicinity of the patient and serves more or less as a relay station between the implant and the service center. Therefore, the intermediate patient device has two different bidirectional data communication interfaces to allow a bidirectional data communication with the implant at one end and a bidirectional data communication with the service center at the other end. The data communication interface for the connection between the intermediate patient device and the service center may be designed for wireless or wired connection, e.g., via a cellular phone network or via a landline telephone network.
Whereas traditional programming of an implant is performed with the help of a programming device by a physician in the presence of the patient, the physician does not see the patient in remote programming. The physician does not have the patient directly in front of him when performing the remote programming and therefore cannot respond as easily to direct statements by the patient.
It is preferable that this circumstance should be taken into account in designing the implant and in arranging for remote programming of the implant.